FUKUSHIMA--Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko on July 16 offered words of encouragement to six people who were evacuated from their hometowns after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami triggered the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
FUKUSHIMA--Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko on July 16 offered words of encouragement to six people who were evacuated from their hometowns after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami triggered the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
One of them, Kyoko Akaishizawa, 61, from Iitate village, told the emperor that she was unable to return home despite the decontamination work.
The emperor consoled her, saying: “(The radiation level) hasn’t declined sufficiently even after the decontamination, has it? It’s troublesome.”
Before the talks in Fukushima city, the imperial couple visited a peach farmer in Koori town.
The empress encouraged the farmer, saying, “You probably had hard times during the time of decontamination, didn’t you?”
In the evening, the couple went to the Nasu Imperial Villa in Nasu, Tochigi Prefecture. They plan to return to Tokyo on July 21.